Newell Catania

The artwork I produce is influenced by childhood nostalgia, joy, and sometimes sorrow.

My work exists in the wearable art realm, hovering at the junction of metals, fibers, and computer aided design. I have created clothing and jewelry from both fibers and metal, creating an interdisciplinary body of work. Generally, color plays an important role in my work as I’m drawn to bright, often childlike hues, with a specific interest in pink. Through my art I lean into extravagance and decadence, while also exploring the ideas of kitsch and humor. I find myself pursuing sentimentality, identifying which materials, textures, and imagery spark an emotional response from the collective childhood experiences of my peers. This pursuit has highlighted the importance of incorporating found objects and uncommon materials into my projects, which strengthens my personal connection to both the object and the viewer. Going forward, I’m enthusiastic about investigating themes of healing, comfort, whimsiness, interior spaces and homeware, playfulness, oddities, and capturing fondness for mutual childhood memories. I will honor the evolution of my personal style by building on and experimenting more with techniques and methods I’ve come to love in my practice.

About Newell Catania
TYL Metals/Jewelry/Cad-Cam ‘23

Newell Catania is a Philadelphia based student in the Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM and Fibers and Material Studies programs at Tyler School of Art and Architecture. She explores metal, textile, and 3D modeling fabrication techniques to produce work speaking to an overall theme of nostalgia and collective memory.